Tuesday, May 27, 2008

We began our holiday weekend at the lake early Friday afternoon. Chase didn't seem to remember ever being there because everything was a brand new discovery. As we were walking through the woods, he'd stop at every fallen log and say, "What happened to tree tree?". He was very concerned for those fallen specimens. Little monkey was also on a mad search for "Sssss's" or in layman's terms: snakes. He'd look in every hole and say, "sssss". He really is an outdoor child as that evening when it was time to come in, he stood fruitlessly tugging at the closed door crying,"outside, outside" for a full 15 minutes. I think he would have slept outside if we would have let him. Instead he slept in the big bed in the smaller guest room. He really is growing up too fast.

On Saturday, we had a little barbeque with Mom, Dad, David, Danielle, Nate, Mandy, Avery and Jaden. It was a beautiful day even though it was a little chilly. We ate well, took nature walks and went for a boat ride. Then Grandma and Grandpa spent the night at the lake with us which was a special treat for Chase. We woke up Sunday morning to a yummy egg breakfast prepared by Grandpa and lots of love and attention from both Grandparents.

After the child spoilers headed back home, Drew and I took Chase to the Deep Creek Nature Center to see fish and snakes and turtle and stuffed bears. It was fun for the little guy, but a little on the dull side for us older patrons. After his nap, we went down to the lake for one last visit. Chase got to dunk his feet in the water and splash all around. He was in heaven. This also served to wear him out a bit so that he slept on our ride back to Virginia. Sneaky parents we are.

We're scheduled to visit the lake again in June. I hope that I'll be feeling up for it at that time. I think floating along in a giant inner tube while hugely pregnant sounds divine, don't you?

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Here are a few pictures of Chase enjoying his new play set. We're quite pleased with the new equipment even though our favorite self-absorbed neighbors tell us that we are the epitome of inconsiderate as we are forcing them to look at a structure that is a "visual nuisance". Ever the resilient one, Chase hasn't allowed their cantankerous spirit to stop him from enjoying his new toy. The very first day he played on it, he did a happy dance from atop the platform while repeating the word "cool" over and over again. After that, he threw his hands in the air and said, "Jackpot"--or at least that's what it sounded like to us. I'm sure the sounds of his glee only served to make those next door even more irritable. What a shame.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Saturday night was my friend Nicole's going away/graduation party. She is relocating to Pennsylvania a week or so after school lets out. We're happy that she is moving on to greener pastures, but we're sure sad to see her go. Luckily her party had cupcakes, so that helped to ease the pain a bit.Today, we went to the Volunteer Fire Department's open house. They were giving rides on the trucks, but the line was a bit long considering it was raining and we had a toddler who was 50 minutes past his scheduled nap. Chase didn't seem to notice that he'd missed out on anything because he was enjoying watching the trucks come into the station with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. As we were leaving he kept saying, "Bye bye woowoo". Here's a family shot that the nice fireman took. Unfortunately, the nice fireman snapped the picture right as I was swiping a rain-soaked tendril out of my eye. Very flattering.

I will say that the little yellow hats they were giving away were a big hit. Chase liked it because it meant he was a little fire dude. Mommy liked it because it meant that her head stayed dry.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Today has been my official "Be a slug" day. I got to sleep in. I got to watch Regis & Kelly instead of Mighty Monster Trucks. I even got to take a long shower that included a deep cleansing mud mask for my hair. This pampering was of course owed to me since on Mother's Day I had to cook a meal for 11 adults that consisted entirely of dishes that my sweet husband requested--but that's all just another example of my selfless nature.

Anyway, as part of my lazy day, I got to read through a few blogs that I haven't visited in awhile. I had so much free time that I was even able to click on links from my tried and true reading material in a search for more treasures to add to my favorites list should another day of sloth come my way. And--Hello--I'm about to turn into a blimp, so I'm quite certain that there will be more slovenliness in my near future. And that my friends is the story of how I came across this post from another mommy blogger that very eloquently expresses my feelings on why I choose to have this blog.

Sure, this little web space is a great way to keep family and friends updated on our daily lives. And yes,please forgive me, but I do often use it as an outlet for the release of the frustration and/or rage that I feel due to random irritations that I encounter in my daily life. There's also the occasional showcasing of things that I would like to have bought for me and wrapped in bright paper, but really that's just a public service that I provide for you dear reader.

But when you get right down to the heart of it all, the reason that I started and continue to maintain this blog is so that I can have a record for myself and for my children of what life was like when they were still my little babies, and I was still the center of their world. Time goes by so quickly, and it seems that my viable brain cells are deteriorating at a similar rate of speed, so I can't count on my memory alone to serve me in the future. Yea, I could write it all in a journal, but that could get lost, eaten by the dog, or possibly even destroyed in a fire or other natural disaster--plus my handwriting isn't always what you could call legible. More importantly, having it online gives me the added benefit of getting to read all of the love notes that are left for me in the comment section. It appears that I am totally self-serving after all.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

That's how many days until little Amaya arrives. Yes, I am that much of a nerd that I have counted down the days and marked them on my calendar. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that you hadn't already figured out what a dork I am.

For those of you who didn't know me during the last pregnancy or for those of you who were so traumatized by the events that you have since blocked it out of your minds, let me just give you a little preview of what I'll be like in the next 3 months or so...

First, I'm going to start swelling up like Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'll lose my ankles, my feet which are already absurdly wide will refuse to go willingly into any shoe, my face will balloon to Stay Puff proportions and my fingers will begin to show an uncanny resemblance to a certain processed meat found in the breakfast section.

Plus, I'm going to start gaining mammoth amounts of poundage as I will be too uncomfortable to move much...and little Amaya will still be demanding that I eat ridiculous quantities of food--chocolate being the most requested nourishment. That leads us to the fact that my belly will have grown to be basketball sized which will make a good night's sleep a rare commodity indeed. Oh, and if for some reason I am able to get myself comfortable enough to possibly sleep, the heartburn will surely keep me from actually sawing any z's.

And here's the scary part...this is what happened last time when I only had myself to worry about. Now that there's a little Noodle depending on me daily, who knows how exhausted and miserable I'm going to become. So, in short, I'm going to be one cranky Mamajama. I tell you this for three reasons:

Friday, May 02, 2008

So the last few days, Chase has been obsessed with Memo. (Nemo) I am not sure why because he's only seen the movie maybe once in its entirety, but the kid goes around the house saying Memo all day long. At school he points out the Memo in the fish tank. And just this morning he found the flash card with the clown fish on it and very lovingly said, "Memo", kissed it and then gently placed it in his most treasured Smash Crash monster truck book.

Fast forward to this morning when we went on a nature walk at the local park. Part of the trek included a stroll past the pond. Little Chase kept calling for Memo as we walked around the marshy perimeter. "Memooooo...Memo??" When it came time to leave the pond and head for drier pastures, he kept turning back saying "Bye Bye Memo". Can the kid get any cuter?

I didn't get to take any pictures by the pond b/c I was too occupied with trying to keep the little man out of the water, but here are a few shots I got on other parts of our jaunt. As you can see from the pictures, he was so entranced with his fish hunt, that he forgot he was wearing a hat. Otherwise, it would have been swiftly thrown to the ground as the little stinker hates wearing hats.

Geese! With Babies! But Chase calls them "Ucks".

Listening to the guide talk about how tadpoles become frogs. He's soaking it all in...can't ya tell?

Walking along in his new Target sandals. Cool dude.

Listen lady, I know the difference between a real duck and a pretend duck & this here duck's a fraud!